Honey Bee Management & The Business of Beekeeping

WEBVTT

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May I have your attention, please? The following

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is not the real Jeff Fox release. If you know

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darn well that flailing and swatting at bees

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only antagonizes them, but you realize you did

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it last week anyway, you might be a beekeeper.

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ever address a queen bee as your highness. You

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might be a beekeeper. If you have ever made up

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a joke that begins an Italian, a Carniolan, and

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a Russian walk into a bar, you might be a beekeeper.

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Welcome welcome to Bee Love Beekeeping presented

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by our good friends over at Man Lake. Our question

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of the day is this and it's especially pertinent

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to sideliners. How many different income streams

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have you created for your beekeeping business?

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Today our guest is Ryan Griffith and we'll be

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discussing the small business side of beekeeping

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including taking care of other people's bees.

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Before we jump into that, A listener recently

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brought this tidbit of information to my attention.

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We all know that bee stings hurt a little bit,

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right? But have you ever heard of the Schmidt

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sting pain index? Yes, there actually is such

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a thing. This sting pain index rates the painfulness

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of 78 different stinging insects and it rates

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the level of pain over 25 different body locations.

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The pain was rated on a 1 to 10 scale relative

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to a sting on the forearm. So let's talk about

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bee stings now. I'm going to list the three least

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painful locations first. They were the skull,

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the middle toe tip, and the upper arm, all scoring

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just a 2 .3. So, hey, if you're ever going to

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get stung, pick one of those places. But the

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three most painful locations were these. Number

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one the nostril coming in at a 9 .0 on the pain

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index Second was the upper lip at an 8 .7 and

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third was Sorry, I'm not gonna say this on a

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podcast. Let's just say ladies You don't have

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to worry about getting stung there. Anyway, it

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was a 7 .3 on the pain index So I'm curious and

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please email me Eric at be love beekeeping comm

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Let me know your thoughts. Have you found more

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painful or less painful places? And go ahead

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and take a guess at which insects have the most

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painful stings. It's not a honeybee. Now let's

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head to Connecticut for our discussion with Ryan.

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I'd like to welcome our special guest today to

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the show. We have Ryan Griffith coming to us

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from Connecticut. Hey, how you doing, Ryan? I'm

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doing good. How are you? Good. What's the name

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of your farm and apiary up there? My farm's name

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is Neckers Farm, N -E -C -K -E -R -S Farm. We're

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out of Brantford, Connecticut. We're mostly honeybee

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management and honeybee rescues, but we also

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specialize in mushroom growing. Okay, Neckers

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Farm, does that have anything to do with teenagers

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in the backseat of a car? No, no, no. So I live

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in an area called Indian Neck in Brantford, Connecticut.

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And anybody that grew up here like I did, you

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know, we're known as Neckers. We have an adjacent

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area that's called Stoney Creek, and everybody's

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known as Creakers. So it's basically an homage

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to the locals where I live. So the Neckers and

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the Creakers, it's like the bloods and the whatever's

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the... We actually go around the bonfire and

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have fun together. Oh, good. So it's never a

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competition. So it's a good town to live in.

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Good. Hey, we have a ton to talk about today.

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You have so much experience and I don't know

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where to jump in. So we're just going to jump

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in all over the place. And starting with when

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we were texting the other night, you were doing

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you were catching a swarm in the dark. Yes. Is

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that normal for you to do this in the dark versus

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the day? What I notice is if you don't get that

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swarm and you wait for the next day, a lot of

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times you're going to lose it. So it's better

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to take care of something now instead of putting

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it off for tomorrow because it might not be there

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tomorrow. I do a lot of them unfortunately. A

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lot of them are usually angry. The one I did

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the other day fortunately was very peaceful and

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I did it without a sting. It's a little bit more

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dangerous but if you really care about these

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creatures and we're a true honeybee rescue and

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I always feel that the way a society treats the

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most fragile creatures around them is the best

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way to judge that society. And you never know

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what genetics you might get. That might be the

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genetics that might have the silver key for mite

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control. You never know. But yeah, we'll do a

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lot of rescues at night. I'm always working till

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sundown. We do seven days a week, 16 hour days

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during the spring and summer, and it's just nonstop.

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But thankfully we get the winters off. You cannot

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tell me that beekeepers aren't hard workers.

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We love it though. Does it work though if you

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love what you do? Exactly. I know how sore I

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was last night. I think the hardest time I have

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is keeping a truck on the road because we put

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so many miles on our trucks going all over the

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place. I think that's probably the biggest issue

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I have is just keeping a truck healthy. So do

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you find that catching swarms at night, is their

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temperament different than during the day? They're

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more confused. So when they land on you, they're

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more apt to get into your clothing. I'm only

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going to wear a veil. I don't wear gloves. They're

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going to go where the warmth is. So your body

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is going to be the first spot. So that's where

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you're going to get the stings underneath your

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armpits. That's where you're going to get them

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in between your elbow. Anywhere where there's

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a joint, you're more likely to get stung. They're

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going to go to the back of your neck and try

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to climb up inside your veil. They seem more

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confused on average. It's not like they're directly

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trying to sting you like an angry swarm. It's

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more of they're going to crawl all over you and

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find an avenue maybe up your pants cuff and sing

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you on your legs. And you're on an extension

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ladder in the dark. You don't have time to brush

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them off. You don't see them. And when you're

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getting stung under the clothing, you have to

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carefully. carry that swarm down that ladder

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and just deal with them stinging you the whole

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time. Because the worst thing you do is panic

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on a ladder. Later, we're going to get to a wild

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and crazy beekeeping story of yours. So be thinking

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about that in the meantime. I have a feeling

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you have a bunch of them. Yeah, I was going to

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say which one. Because in general, that was pretty

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good already. But you mentioned a second ago,

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bee rescue. Tell us about your bee rescue operation.

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What do you mean by that? So there's multiple

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reasons why I think that it's important to have

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honeybee rescuers. I think that it keeps the

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PR for beekeepers in the best avenue. Nothing

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is worse than having a neighbor that is head

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set on ruining your dream of being a beekeeper.

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They'll go to the local legislation. They'll

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talk really loudly. If their kid gets stung by

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a bee, swarm management is, I think, the second

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most important thing. for backyard beekeepers

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next to mite management. I think that rescuing

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the bees isn't just close to my heart where I

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am trying to make sure they have a good home

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instead of living in a house and basically dying

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off. We all know that if you leave a colony out

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in a tree or in somebody's house, they're more

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than likely going to die off. They might have

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that rare genetic code where they're mite resistant

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and they're able to survive. But I think it's

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good to have several honeybee rescuers in every

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single state to basically lessen the avenue where

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everybody's against the beekeeper. I noticed

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a lot of people have been seeing in the last

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10 years where somehow beekeepers have become

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somewhat of a villain in certain groups. And

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by rescuing these bees, by getting them on the

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tree before they make their way in the house,

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By being available to get them out of the house,

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it puts a lot of people at ease. I'd say the

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most panic I've ever seen a human being is when

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they have 10 ,000 bees coming down their chimney

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and they're in the middle of the living room

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and they have small children in the house. I've

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seen more people hyperventilate and part of my

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job is also to calm those individuals, getting

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them to relax, telling them, listen, they're

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going to go to the windows, they're going to

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go to the lights, put shoes on, you're going

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to be safe. They're not interested in you. They've

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crashed into your house. This is a very chaotic

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thing. Calming down the people sometimes is the

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best skill that I have, and getting them to realize

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that we're going to get through this. I really

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think that having individuals on our side is

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the most important part of beekeeping right now.

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That's a great point. Especially for the backyard

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beekeepers. And calming those individuals can

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calm the bees a little bit as well. Absolutely.

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They can sense our pheromones. I, you could tell

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an angry person when they come to your house,

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when the bees are right in their face, I have

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a nine, a seven and a five year old that are

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walking up and down my driveway every single

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day. And they're, they're riding their bikes

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on the driveway. There could be 30 beehives just

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in my driveway alone. And obviously there's a

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ton in the backyard and whatnot. My kids will

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walk right past that. They don't even pay attention

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to the bees anymore. They're, you know, they'll

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notice them. If they're, they're getting a little

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agitated, obviously they'll, they'll take pause.

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But I think it's always funny when somebody from

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the town has to come by or somebody's grabbing

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honey. And my seven year old will go right up

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to them by the hand. Oh, don't worry about it.

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Just walk with me and you're safe. And they'll

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bring them right to my door. I absolutely love

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that, that she has the skill set to be so confident

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to just go right up to another adult, bring them

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down right to my front door and say, listen,

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they're not that dangerous. And I think, except

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for sick bees and certain genetics, most bees

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are very peaceful. They're herbivores. They're

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meant to be peaceful. If you're not messing with

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them, they're gonna remain peaceful. And I always

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say that nine times out of 10, if you have angry

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bees, it's on the beekeeper. And that's what

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I've noticed over the years. We do a lot of rescues,

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so sometimes we have to change those behaviors

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over a couple generations and show them that

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we're there to feed them, we're there to take

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care of them. and we mean no harm. But usually

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I could turn a colony around if you do the right

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avenues. I've had really angry queens that I've

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turned to somewhat peaceful queens. So is this

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a full -time business for you? Yes. Yeah. It's

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seven days a week, 16 hour days during season.

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And we look forward to the rain days sometimes

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so I can get a little bit of sleep. But even

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then, if it's after June, we're jarring honey,

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we're labeling honey. We have around 50 customers

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that have private ABRs that we manage full -time.

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They will pay us to inspect the bees, pay us

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for the colonies, and pay us to jar their honey,

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label their honey. It's basically the full aspect.

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They get pollination services and they get all

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the honey without any hard work. It's usually

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a real positive for more of the affluent community.

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So I think a lot of beekeepers are trying to

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figure out, especially hobbyists and sideliners

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are trying to figure out other ways to make money

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doing this thing that they love. So I would love

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for you to talk to us a little bit more about

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that. Do you have to be in an affluent community

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for this? And I would assume probably, but how

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do you get that business? What do they expect

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you to do? Do they get any tax breaks for having

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bees around? Give us the whole lowdown. So the

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United States of America, particularly like solar

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fields, they have to have a certain percentage

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of agriculture. So that's one avenue right there.

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And honeybees are the quickest, smallest land

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impacts agricultural option that you could put

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right on a solar yard. and they get their tax

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credit for it. So they need to do that by law

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to basically get that agricultural tax credit.

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If you get into it with some of the solar companies,

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they might put you in the right position to do

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that for them, and they'll pay you for every

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inspection fee and whatnot. I would always say

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don't sell yourself short. If you're going to

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go into somebody else's hives, you're going to

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manage them, possibly get stung 10, 15 times,

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you deserve to get paid well. The other part

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of your question is an affluent neighborhood.

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There are always some individuals in your area

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that have extra income or extra funds that they

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might want to spend on having pollination there

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year -round or just have bees near year -round.

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I can't tell you how many clients I have that

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will put a chair right in front of their bees

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and just watch them during their morning coffee.

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Beekeeping is extremely therapeutic. I have individuals

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that got out of the military and they have PTSD

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and they say that this is one of the things that

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really soothes them. It's very rhythmic. The

00:13:49.019 --> 00:13:52.620
sounds from bees, the movement from bees, it's

00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:56.059
very common. One thing I tell a lot of my clients,

00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:57.940
if you ever get in a bad argument, you lose a

00:13:57.940 --> 00:14:00.639
family member, get into those beehives, because

00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.360
I think it's one of the only things that I can

00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:07.110
think of that can, it's mood altering. It's not,

00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:09.070
you know, your coffee's mood altering, you know,

00:14:09.149 --> 00:14:10.690
somebody wants to smoke, somebody wants to drink,

00:14:10.830 --> 00:14:13.190
that's mood altering. This is something where

00:14:13.190 --> 00:14:16.429
there's no ill effects and it's mood altering.

00:14:16.450 --> 00:14:19.149
So if you've had a bad day, you go in that beehive,

00:14:19.169 --> 00:14:21.210
you might forget why you had a bad day. Because

00:14:21.210 --> 00:14:24.929
you're so micro -focused on those bees that you're

00:14:24.929 --> 00:14:26.590
not thinking about what you need to wear for

00:14:26.590 --> 00:14:30.110
the next event, what you need to buy for a gift,

00:14:30.429 --> 00:14:32.190
whatnot. You're only thinking about those bees

00:14:32.190 --> 00:14:34.129
because if you mess up, they're gonna light you

00:14:34.129 --> 00:14:36.470
up. And if you really care about them, you're

00:14:36.470 --> 00:14:38.129
not going to want to put your hands around the

00:14:38.129 --> 00:14:40.350
other side of the frame too fast and squish them

00:14:40.350 --> 00:14:42.590
or whatnot. You're going to take great care of

00:14:42.590 --> 00:14:44.629
them. So the only thing you're focused on is

00:14:44.629 --> 00:14:46.769
those bees that are in front of you. And I'll

00:14:46.769 --> 00:14:48.710
hear a lot of people say, you know, after they

00:14:48.710 --> 00:14:50.830
went through those beehives, they forgot why

00:14:50.830 --> 00:14:52.490
they were angry. You know, Mary, I always tell

00:14:52.490 --> 00:14:53.629
married couples, if you're going to fight, go

00:14:53.629 --> 00:14:55.950
in that beehive. And they're like, you know,

00:14:56.009 --> 00:14:58.350
right, we forgot why we were fighting. And it

00:14:58.350 --> 00:15:02.750
works. It works. And it's, it's Imagine just

00:15:02.750 --> 00:15:05.350
spending an hour doing something and you're no

00:15:05.350 --> 00:15:08.909
longer upset or you have a clearer view on what

00:15:08.909 --> 00:15:11.610
made you upset in the first place. I think honeybees

00:15:11.610 --> 00:15:15.330
have that ability. Apiary marriage therapy, you've

00:15:15.330 --> 00:15:17.820
just created something. By the way, we've had

00:15:17.820 --> 00:15:20.779
the guys from Hives for Heroes on the show. Yeah.

00:15:20.940 --> 00:15:23.500
And it was really fun to talk about what they

00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:26.600
do. And there are other similar kinds of organizations

00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:30.519
out there too that do a great job. And yeah,

00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:33.399
that therapeutic aspect can really be amazing.

00:15:33.980 --> 00:15:38.820
I'm curious if you have some client that just

00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:41.259
loves their bees and has morning coffee with

00:15:41.259 --> 00:15:44.419
them. And then in the spring, their bees are

00:15:44.419 --> 00:15:47.990
dead. What do they think about you as their beekeeper?

00:15:48.409 --> 00:15:51.309
Or do you give them realistic expectations upfront?

00:15:52.169 --> 00:15:54.169
I don't lie to my clients. I try to tell them

00:15:54.169 --> 00:15:57.549
exactly what the deal is. Generally, we have

00:15:57.549 --> 00:16:03.330
an 80 to 90 % overwintered rate. Quick break

00:16:03.330 --> 00:16:06.789
to thank our presenting sponsor, Man Lake. I've

00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:09.610
found that Man Lake has absolutely everything

00:16:09.610 --> 00:16:12.149
I need to take care of the health of my bees.

00:16:12.629 --> 00:16:14.750
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00:16:15.090 --> 00:16:17.899
hive health and nutrition. pollen substitutes,

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you know how to use it, including Bella, their

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the show notes, for $10 off your first $100 purchase.

00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:45.240
This is the first year where we lost about 40

00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:48.100
% of our colonies. the bee loss was extensive.

00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:50.899
I know I'm ahead of the national average, but

00:16:50.899 --> 00:16:54.320
I'm not used to losing 40 % of my colonies over

00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:56.419
winter. We did the same thing as we did every

00:16:56.419 --> 00:17:00.039
single year. I was in colonies on December 28th,

00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:03.220
booming, strong, beautiful colonies. Everything

00:17:03.220 --> 00:17:06.140
looked great. I go there six weeks later. And

00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:08.599
in Connecticut, all of January and the first

00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:12.589
two weeks of February, were cold. And there wasn't

00:17:12.589 --> 00:17:14.829
a day this past year that it really made it over

00:17:14.829 --> 00:17:18.369
40 degrees. So the concept of absconding, even

00:17:18.369 --> 00:17:20.910
absconding slowly, you would think that the bees

00:17:20.910 --> 00:17:23.049
would die right in front of the hives. I was

00:17:23.049 --> 00:17:24.990
coming back to collapsed hives that there was

00:17:24.990 --> 00:17:27.769
zero bees in them. And there's no bees at the

00:17:27.769 --> 00:17:29.750
bottom board. There's no bees in front of the

00:17:29.750 --> 00:17:35.400
hive. And it was It was one of the first times

00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:37.440
where I like, do I even know what I'm doing?

00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:39.839
And that's something you get as a beekeeper.

00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:42.099
You're always questioning yourself. My grandfather

00:17:42.099 --> 00:17:45.000
said a beekeeper with more answers than questions

00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:47.420
is not necessarily a beekeeper I would trust.

00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:51.519
And I mean, anybody that's talking to me, particularly

00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:54.059
clients, they'll see I changed my answers in

00:17:54.059 --> 00:17:55.660
real time. I'll look at a frame and I'll say,

00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:57.779
nope, nope, we're not gonna do what I said. We're

00:17:57.779 --> 00:18:00.609
changing what we're gonna do. just based on what

00:18:00.609 --> 00:18:04.890
you see. And you have to have adaptability as

00:18:04.890 --> 00:18:07.910
a beekeeper. Yeah. So where did those bees go?

00:18:08.269 --> 00:18:10.589
I don't know. I don't know. And I know that a

00:18:10.589 --> 00:18:13.009
lot of people in my state and a lot of other

00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:15.250
states that I talk to experience the same exact

00:18:15.250 --> 00:18:18.829
thing. Really strong mite -free colonies or at

00:18:18.829 --> 00:18:21.630
least low mite numbers that just disappeared.

00:18:22.089 --> 00:18:27.630
I did notice a month ago, queens that were laying

00:18:27.630 --> 00:18:31.670
really well, at the beginning to middle of February

00:18:31.670 --> 00:18:35.029
into the beginning of March, completely stopped

00:18:35.029 --> 00:18:38.069
laying and either became a drone layer or just

00:18:38.069 --> 00:18:40.789
completely disappeared. And I've never experienced

00:18:40.789 --> 00:18:43.750
it. Once or twice, you know, one or two colonies,

00:18:44.009 --> 00:18:46.490
you know, we manage around 500, give or take.

00:18:46.809 --> 00:18:48.789
This year, our numbers are lower because we lost

00:18:48.789 --> 00:18:51.009
so much, but we'll probably get up to 500 by

00:18:51.009 --> 00:18:54.109
the end of the season. The queens just either

00:18:54.109 --> 00:18:56.990
disappeared, became drone layers. And it's something

00:18:56.990 --> 00:19:00.130
that I've not experienced before. And it's brand

00:19:00.130 --> 00:19:02.910
new. So these are colonies that made it that

00:19:02.910 --> 00:19:05.049
their queen still collapsed. And I was able to

00:19:05.049 --> 00:19:08.009
move brood over and place queens where I could.

00:19:09.529 --> 00:19:12.329
It's something new. And I've never seen it before.

00:19:12.710 --> 00:19:16.630
And I'm only a small amount of information. You

00:19:16.630 --> 00:19:19.130
need thousands of hives to basically get a lot

00:19:19.130 --> 00:19:22.630
of data. Well, there's a lot of research going

00:19:22.630 --> 00:19:24.990
on trying to figure out what happened this winter.

00:19:25.509 --> 00:19:27.609
My gut, it's just my gut. I think it's something

00:19:27.609 --> 00:19:31.029
to do with the Queens. And it's, something's

00:19:31.029 --> 00:19:34.369
going on with, I mean, Queens used to last five

00:19:34.369 --> 00:19:37.309
years easy. Now they're only lasting a year and

00:19:37.309 --> 00:19:39.750
a half to two years. Do you think it's genetic

00:19:39.750 --> 00:19:41.869
or do you think it's chemical? Do you think it's?

00:19:42.710 --> 00:19:45.529
herbicides, pesticides. I know you have to speculate.

00:19:45.710 --> 00:19:48.130
I'm asking you to speculate. You always get in

00:19:48.130 --> 00:19:50.509
trouble when you make these clear answers. There

00:19:50.509 --> 00:19:54.490
was a recent study about aluminum being found

00:19:54.490 --> 00:19:57.309
in honeybee's guts, and we know that aluminum

00:19:57.309 --> 00:20:02.269
can possibly alter several animals' sexual reproductive

00:20:02.269 --> 00:20:05.049
organs. If it's in our atmosphere and it's affecting

00:20:05.049 --> 00:20:07.190
them, they could be the canary in the hole, and

00:20:07.190 --> 00:20:08.809
if it's affecting them, it's going to affect

00:20:08.809 --> 00:20:13.670
us. But personally, from my experience, that

00:20:13.670 --> 00:20:16.329
having my firstborn was a lot of jumping through

00:20:16.329 --> 00:20:18.569
hoops. And I know a lot of my friends experienced

00:20:18.569 --> 00:20:21.369
that where it wasn't easy having our firstborn,

00:20:21.490 --> 00:20:25.910
having our first child. And I know that there's

00:20:25.910 --> 00:20:28.009
a lot of studies in Europe where they're having

00:20:28.009 --> 00:20:30.049
issues with that. So I'm wondering maybe if it

00:20:30.049 --> 00:20:32.349
is something atmospheric, maybe if it is chemical,

00:20:32.390 --> 00:20:35.109
maybe if it is pesticide -related. Am I going

00:20:35.109 --> 00:20:38.150
to state that it is? No, I could never do that

00:20:38.150 --> 00:20:40.430
without the research in front of me. Now, I only

00:20:40.430 --> 00:20:43.210
asked your opinion, that's okay. Yeah, is my

00:20:43.210 --> 00:20:46.150
opinion? It could be plausible, very plausible.

00:20:46.289 --> 00:20:49.029
I just don't think it's genetic. And if it's

00:20:49.029 --> 00:20:52.069
not genetic, then it's something going on. I

00:20:52.069 --> 00:20:55.309
just read an article about microplastics. Yeah.

00:20:55.509 --> 00:20:57.569
Do they have something to do with it? Yep. Is

00:20:57.569 --> 00:21:00.329
it all the glyphosate out there? Is it aluminum?

00:21:00.950 --> 00:21:04.190
Is it? Right. And chances are it's a combination

00:21:04.190 --> 00:21:07.299
of things, right? Right. The thing that drives

00:21:07.299 --> 00:21:10.099
my brain to really think is how did it hit the

00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:12.019
whole country all at once? Yeah, it's crazy.

00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:15.259
It didn't just hit the colony, because everybody

00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:17.920
wanted to focus on the almonds, but it didn't

00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:20.079
just hit the almonds. It hit the Northeast with

00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:23.279
people that didn't touch the almonds. It hit

00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:28.059
the entire country. So certain people were unaffected.

00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:30.000
One of the yards where I had the highest green

00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.410
flailers I got 37 out of 45, actually 42 because

00:21:34.410 --> 00:21:38.069
three didn't go into fall. 37 out of 42 made

00:21:38.069 --> 00:21:39.950
it through winter. And then I started seeing

00:21:39.950 --> 00:21:44.289
a couple of queen collapses. So that's, that

00:21:44.289 --> 00:21:48.250
gears me to think that something's up and it's,

00:21:48.650 --> 00:21:50.470
it's, I don't think it's something that's going

00:21:50.470 --> 00:21:54.250
to just go away tomorrow. I think we're, we might

00:21:54.250 --> 00:21:57.230
be in the long haul. Whatever is, is happening.

00:21:57.509 --> 00:21:59.670
It's, it's not just we can treat for mites and

00:21:59.670 --> 00:22:02.299
it's going to go away. That's my gut. That's

00:22:02.299 --> 00:22:04.740
what I feel. I feel like it's queen -related.

00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:07.160
What made it queen -related? Sure, it could be

00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:09.539
chemical. Could be pesticide. Could be something

00:22:09.539 --> 00:22:11.279
in the atmosphere that we don't even understand.

00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:14.240
Could be microplastics. Could it be a combination

00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:16.980
of all of them? Sure, it could be. We're always

00:22:16.980 --> 00:22:19.279
trying to find the cure without trying to find

00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:22.259
the cause. And we do that with everything. We

00:22:22.259 --> 00:22:24.019
always try to cure cancer. We never try to figure

00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:26.339
out what's causing it or eliminate what's causing

00:22:26.339 --> 00:22:29.210
it. We'll put a label on something instead of

00:22:29.210 --> 00:22:32.829
eliminating it from production, which kind of

00:22:32.829 --> 00:22:34.869
seems backwards as far as I'm concerned. Yeah,

00:22:34.869 --> 00:22:37.710
no kidding. Well, on your successful years, your

00:22:37.710 --> 00:22:41.549
80 to 90 % success rate, which is great. What's

00:22:41.549 --> 00:22:44.849
your secret there? Is it mostly my control? My

00:22:44.849 --> 00:22:48.250
control? I treat six to seven times. I'm a big

00:22:48.250 --> 00:22:53.190
proponent of oxalic acid. I love reading what

00:22:53.190 --> 00:22:56.900
Dr. Randy Oliver puts out. I think he's... a

00:22:56.900 --> 00:22:58.900
great resource for anybody that really wants

00:22:58.900 --> 00:23:02.980
to get good at beekeeping because he doesn't

00:23:02.980 --> 00:23:06.079
give his opinions. He just gives you the data

00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:08.140
and he lets you come up with your own opinions.

00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:12.660
I think that's the best way to approach it because

00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:15.319
we all know beekeeping is regional. You could

00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:17.880
have certain pollens in your area that will create

00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:20.710
stronger bees. You can have certain pollens in

00:23:20.710 --> 00:23:22.490
areas that will make weaker bees. Everybody knows

00:23:22.490 --> 00:23:25.170
if you send bees to blueberries, it's going to

00:23:25.170 --> 00:23:28.230
possibly weaken the colonies a little bit. And

00:23:28.230 --> 00:23:30.230
I guess that's because the acidic in the soil

00:23:30.230 --> 00:23:33.230
that might translate into their pollen. Everything's

00:23:33.230 --> 00:23:36.210
regional. So I love reading a lot of his stuff

00:23:36.210 --> 00:23:40.549
because that's just straight facts. And I can

00:23:40.549 --> 00:23:43.009
implement them or not implement them. I think

00:23:43.009 --> 00:23:45.690
that mites are, I want to say easy when you get

00:23:45.690 --> 00:23:47.849
on a regimen and you also have to keep testing.

00:23:48.109 --> 00:23:50.490
because I believe mite drift is a real thing.

00:23:50.789 --> 00:23:53.490
If a colony collapses near you, guess what? All

00:23:53.490 --> 00:23:55.589
those mites, as your colonies are going to rob

00:23:55.589 --> 00:23:59.130
them out, you can go from zero out of 100 mites

00:23:59.130 --> 00:24:03.609
to 10 or 15 out of 100 in a day. That's a real

00:24:03.609 --> 00:24:06.029
thing. One thing I noticed out of rescues is

00:24:06.029 --> 00:24:08.450
particularly dead outs. When I go to a colony

00:24:08.450 --> 00:24:11.730
that died in somebody's house, you'll see where

00:24:11.730 --> 00:24:14.130
the mites were chewing out of the dead pupa.

00:24:15.009 --> 00:24:18.569
and they're still alive after the colony collapses.

00:24:19.130 --> 00:24:22.210
So that's telling me that, you know, when this

00:24:22.210 --> 00:24:24.509
hive is getting robbed out, they're just gonna

00:24:24.509 --> 00:24:28.170
hitchhike right onto those bees. And if it collapsed

00:24:28.170 --> 00:24:29.950
because they have something like a 60 out of

00:24:29.950 --> 00:24:31.849
a hundred, you know, 60 mites per a hundred bees,

00:24:32.390 --> 00:24:35.430
that's a high infestation. And if that's immediately

00:24:35.430 --> 00:24:37.809
getting robbed out, all those mites are going

00:24:37.809 --> 00:24:39.670
to your hive. So you could do everything right

00:24:39.670 --> 00:24:42.650
and still collapse on mites. I like to treat

00:24:42.650 --> 00:24:45.599
six to seven times. I like formic acid. I like

00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:50.119
oxalic acid. Once in a while, we do use thymol

00:24:50.119 --> 00:24:52.980
based, but those are pretty much our regimen.

00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:55.920
We try to stick to organic. And I'm not saying

00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:59.240
go either way. I tell people what the options

00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:03.039
are. I'm organic. If my customer doesn't want

00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:05.420
to be organic, that's their choice. And I'm not

00:25:05.420 --> 00:25:07.279
really going to push it on anybody. That's just

00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:10.279
my choice to be organic. Yeah. Hey, tell me more

00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:12.529
about your business model. Give people other

00:25:12.529 --> 00:25:15.150
ways and ideas of how they can make money doing

00:25:15.150 --> 00:25:17.410
what they love. Well, you got to think outside

00:25:17.410 --> 00:25:20.509
the box. The Sea of the Bees has been a big slogan

00:25:20.509 --> 00:25:23.410
and it was really about our native pollinators.

00:25:23.869 --> 00:25:26.329
I'm not going to say honeybees hijacked it, but

00:25:26.329 --> 00:25:28.970
we got to the point where we keep talking about

00:25:28.970 --> 00:25:32.509
how our native pollinators are in dire straits

00:25:32.509 --> 00:25:35.569
or even becoming extinct in some species. We

00:25:35.569 --> 00:25:38.890
don't have the numbers anymore to basically cover

00:25:38.890 --> 00:25:41.319
pollination throughout the country. And that's

00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:43.359
more than just the food we grow. That includes

00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:45.920
all the trees that are in our environments. And

00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:48.880
honeybees quickly bring a pollinator into your

00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:51.519
backyard that can basically pollinate a lot of

00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:53.140
the trees that people don't even think about.

00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:55.740
I'm sure when, I forget what tree it was, when

00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:57.980
the dodo went extinct and the tree that they

00:25:57.980 --> 00:25:59.779
used to produce, they didn't even think about

00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:04.099
that tree until 20, 30, 40 years ago later when

00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:06.160
they stopped seeing saplings. It wasn't something

00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:08.440
that they originally thought of. When you bring

00:26:08.750 --> 00:26:11.430
honey bees onto a property, you're bringing pollination.

00:26:11.670 --> 00:26:14.029
You're bringing it to the maples, the oaks, all

00:26:14.029 --> 00:26:15.730
the other wonderful trees that we have in our

00:26:15.730 --> 00:26:19.430
area. So if you can sell that to your customers,

00:26:19.730 --> 00:26:21.970
you're being honest. You're being truthful. We

00:26:21.970 --> 00:26:24.849
don't have the needed pollinators anymore. This

00:26:24.849 --> 00:26:26.789
is a pollinator. Do you want to pollinate the

00:26:26.789 --> 00:26:29.250
trees on your land? Do you want to keep your

00:26:29.250 --> 00:26:31.269
ecosystem healthy? Do you want to feed the birds?

00:26:31.630 --> 00:26:34.930
This is a box that creates 2 ,000 dead insects

00:26:34.930 --> 00:26:38.150
a day that can feed a ton of birds in your area.

00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:40.279
That could be a little bit morbid to some, but

00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:43.160
it's the truth. Who hasn't seen the catbird sitting

00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:46.039
in front of the hive, just picking off one after

00:26:46.039 --> 00:26:48.339
another bee? And you know, that might be their

00:26:48.339 --> 00:26:50.799
only food in that area. You go, you walk around

00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:53.200
sometimes and you see nothing flying in the air.

00:26:53.579 --> 00:26:57.059
Putting bees on other people's property can be

00:26:57.059 --> 00:26:59.059
profitable if somebody is willing to take care

00:26:59.059 --> 00:27:03.279
of them. And there needs to be this war against

00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:06.839
native pollinators against honeybees. I just

00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:09.299
found is kind of ridiculous. They've coexisted

00:27:09.299 --> 00:27:11.859
since Jamestown. There was never really a big

00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:14.039
issue until we started using a lot of pesticides.

00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:18.319
We need a pollinator in our environment. We have

00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:20.740
one. It's called the honeybee. It's a great pollinator.

00:27:20.940 --> 00:27:23.819
It works. If somebody wants to privately own

00:27:23.819 --> 00:27:26.140
them on their property, you can sell them the

00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:27.759
bees, you can sell them the gear, you can sell

00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:31.039
them your maintenance services, and they're provided

00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:33.339
with something that is going to be pure magic

00:27:33.339 --> 00:27:36.359
on their property. I'd say don't sell yourself

00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:39.140
short. I would say if you're brand new at this,

00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:43.279
you deserve $50 an hour right off the rip. Beekeepers

00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:46.799
are struggling right now to sell honey, to sell

00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:51.759
products, because it's a lot of influx of foreign

00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:54.319
honeys, particularly in our country. And a lot

00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:56.279
of it's funny honey. I mean, how many times have

00:27:56.279 --> 00:27:58.180
you gone to a market you've tried honey and you

00:27:58.180 --> 00:28:00.880
said, nope, that's not honey? I've done it more

00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:03.529
times than I could count. You wonder how they

00:28:03.529 --> 00:28:05.630
can get away with it, but you're also not the

00:28:05.630 --> 00:28:07.690
person that's going to call anybody out. But

00:28:07.690 --> 00:28:10.009
you know, when you have real honey, it's it's

00:28:10.009 --> 00:28:12.670
got a taste complex of, you know, 20 seconds

00:28:12.670 --> 00:28:15.990
where it's ups and downs, spicy and oh, there's

00:28:15.990 --> 00:28:19.109
floral in it. It's I always say the word magic.

00:28:19.109 --> 00:28:21.349
It's magic in your mouth, you know, and it keeps

00:28:21.349 --> 00:28:23.390
you healthy and it's medicine. Oh, absolutely.

00:28:23.769 --> 00:28:26.170
That's why I got into it in the first place.

00:28:26.230 --> 00:28:28.170
We have doctors in our town that are actually

00:28:28.170 --> 00:28:31.289
prescribing honey for the flu. Yeah, it works.

00:28:31.309 --> 00:28:34.390
I mean. It does all kinds of good things. I got

00:28:34.390 --> 00:28:37.309
into it for the allergy deal. Yeah. Yeah. And

00:28:37.309 --> 00:28:41.369
it works. Speaking of funny, honey, there is

00:28:41.369 --> 00:28:44.569
a particular chicken restaurant chain that's

00:28:44.569 --> 00:28:46.630
been around in this country and well all over

00:28:46.630 --> 00:28:50.650
the world for decades. And if you go in and you

00:28:50.650 --> 00:28:53.190
get one of their nice biscuits and then you go

00:28:53.190 --> 00:28:56.289
over to the condiment shelf and they have what

00:28:56.289 --> 00:29:00.670
they call Honey flavored spread or something

00:29:00.670 --> 00:29:07.250
like that. Okay, there's an extreme example of

00:29:07.250 --> 00:29:10.569
what you're talking about. Absolutely. Compared

00:29:10.569 --> 00:29:13.750
to real life good honey. And once you eat real

00:29:13.750 --> 00:29:17.210
honey, you can't go back. We could probably talk

00:29:17.210 --> 00:29:20.619
for hours about how you take care of. clients

00:29:20.619 --> 00:29:22.579
weren't going to run out of time before then.

00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:26.140
But I have one question. Do they expect some

00:29:26.140 --> 00:29:30.299
kind of a really beautiful hive or do you throw

00:29:30.299 --> 00:29:33.140
old boxes on their property or you know what

00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:35.920
I mean? Depends on the client. Yeah. Okay. I

00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:38.220
have yards that should be in magazines that could

00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:41.759
be in magazines. I have yards of clients that

00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:44.180
I can't take pictures of because they're very,

00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:46.160
very private and they don't want any pictures

00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:49.660
on the private property. I have yards that have

00:29:49.660 --> 00:29:53.019
a $10 ,000 electric fence. We have a lot of bears

00:29:53.019 --> 00:29:56.059
where we live. It depends on the property. I

00:29:56.059 --> 00:30:00.000
also have people that want the used box. Give

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:03.900
me the old stuff. And that's fine. I'll be there

00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:07.140
and I have one yard where I have six different

00:30:07.140 --> 00:30:10.759
hives there that are each painted in a custom

00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:13.759
Easter egg color. And it looks like six Easter

00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:16.480
eggs, Easter egg hives that are right on a hill.

00:30:17.019 --> 00:30:20.000
It depends on your customer. And if you're going

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:22.700
to be a salesman of putting bees on somebody's

00:30:22.700 --> 00:30:25.059
property, you have to work with what they like.

00:30:25.420 --> 00:30:27.660
I don't like gimmicks. I can't stand gimmicks

00:30:27.660 --> 00:30:32.259
or snake oil salesman, but I will cater to aesthetics.

00:30:32.859 --> 00:30:35.660
So if somebody needs a specific aesthetics, a

00:30:35.660 --> 00:30:37.740
certain type of hive stand, I will definitely

00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:40.779
make it happen. I try to gear them away from

00:30:40.779 --> 00:30:44.640
certain types of gimmicky. hives that are for

00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:46.859
other countries and I'm sure you've heard it

00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:48.259
a hundred times. I don't want to mention the

00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:52.160
name, but where it's easy extraction and the

00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:54.339
people love it and it has the cheap little wood

00:30:54.339 --> 00:30:58.579
parts and it's not made for overwintering. I

00:30:58.579 --> 00:31:01.319
just say, just keep it simple. Langstroth is,

00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:04.440
you know, or top bar. I prefer Langstroth a hundred

00:31:04.440 --> 00:31:09.579
times. Some will come out there and look at the

00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:13.519
hives with me. Some will just do once or twice

00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:15.839
and say it's not for me and I take care of it

00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:19.180
100 times. Some I don't even talk to. Some, you

00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:23.500
know, just you bill them and they basically pay

00:31:23.500 --> 00:31:26.140
the bill and you never even see them or hear

00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:28.880
from them. It all depends on each individual.

00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:31.259
We all have individual personalities so you can

00:31:31.259 --> 00:31:33.740
get clients from all different spectrums. Once

00:31:33.740 --> 00:31:36.460
you get the ball rolling and they talk to their

00:31:36.460 --> 00:31:37.980
friends and they say, oh, we got a really good

00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:40.410
beekeeper. You're going to get business through

00:31:40.410 --> 00:31:42.190
word of mouth. You're going to have to have a

00:31:42.190 --> 00:31:44.529
good overwintered percentage. You're going to

00:31:44.529 --> 00:31:49.710
have to be honest. You're almost always on camera

00:31:49.710 --> 00:31:52.609
anyway, so don't do anything that's disingenuine.

00:31:53.210 --> 00:31:57.430
I've seen it. I've seen it. I've gone to people's

00:31:57.430 --> 00:31:59.769
houses where they charge, and there's people

00:31:59.769 --> 00:32:02.130
that do it. They'll charge $10 ,000 at the season,

00:32:02.369 --> 00:32:04.490
and they'll only go there for four or five visits.

00:32:05.029 --> 00:32:07.490
That's not my business model. I don't believe

00:32:07.490 --> 00:32:09.460
in that at all. and then I'll go to the hives

00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:10.700
and they're loaded with mites, they're loaded

00:32:10.700 --> 00:32:13.220
with hive beetles, there's no honey to be had

00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:16.079
and this colony just collapsed. So they just

00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:17.680
did it for a paycheck. If you're going to do

00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:21.579
this and make it profitable, it's absolutely

00:32:21.579 --> 00:32:24.000
possible. But you're going to have to be honest

00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:26.380
because people that have extra money to spend

00:32:26.380 --> 00:32:29.799
on bees for like a side thing, they're not going

00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:33.619
to want to spend it on bees. for a gimmick that

00:32:33.619 --> 00:32:35.619
they've saved up a certain amount of money. They're

00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:38.400
smart enough there. Don't take your clients as,

00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:41.119
as foolish individuals. You know, be honest,

00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:44.180
be real, you know, yes, we're beekeepers. Yes.

00:32:44.259 --> 00:32:46.339
We have a little inner synchroses. We like talking

00:32:46.339 --> 00:32:48.039
to insects more than we like talking to people.

00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:51.259
Most times let them know that we're not going

00:32:51.259 --> 00:32:55.519
to be that, that person that's going to basically

00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:58.119
be a servant on their property. We're going to

00:32:58.119 --> 00:33:00.789
be quirky. That's who we are. You know, and we

00:33:00.789 --> 00:33:02.789
might talk to ourselves, mutter to ourselves

00:33:02.789 --> 00:33:04.509
as we're going through the bees and whatnot.

00:33:05.089 --> 00:33:07.549
That's who we are. Show them who we really are.

00:33:07.750 --> 00:33:10.250
And they'll appreciate it because too often or

00:33:10.250 --> 00:33:13.069
not that some of the individuals, the clientele,

00:33:13.470 --> 00:33:15.430
that you're bringing something different to the

00:33:15.430 --> 00:33:17.930
table that they've not experienced before. And

00:33:17.930 --> 00:33:20.130
it's just being you. And then most beekeepers

00:33:20.130 --> 00:33:23.410
are very similar. Just be you and you'll do fine.

00:33:23.809 --> 00:33:25.730
That's the advice I would give any new beekeeper

00:33:25.730 --> 00:33:27.869
that wanted to take care of bees on somebody

00:33:27.869 --> 00:33:30.940
else's property. and start a business model like

00:33:30.940 --> 00:33:33.279
that. Man, I'd hire you right now. You're a good

00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:36.980
salesman on this, too. I just love what I do.

00:33:37.180 --> 00:33:40.779
I can tell. So and that makes a huge, huge difference.

00:33:41.140 --> 00:33:43.220
All right. I want to hear if you can think of

00:33:43.220 --> 00:33:45.519
one of your favorite wild and crazy beekeeping

00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:48.839
stories. What happened to you? Oh, gosh. All

00:33:48.839 --> 00:33:52.660
right. I'll give you one of my rescues. I was

00:33:52.660 --> 00:33:57.380
in Dutchess County, New York, and I came there,

00:33:57.380 --> 00:34:00.279
you know, Mid -afternoon takes to go look at

00:34:00.279 --> 00:34:02.859
the house. I'm up on an extension ladder. I'm

00:34:02.859 --> 00:34:04.700
looking at the the hive that's in this house

00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:08.619
It's an old old colonial house Plaster ceilings

00:34:08.619 --> 00:34:11.579
plaster walls and I start taking a look at it

00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:13.260
And the reason why they called me is because

00:34:13.260 --> 00:34:15.079
bees were getting stung or people were getting

00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:18.000
stung on the street I was like, okay, there probably

00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:20.559
wasn't bees. This is about 30 feet up. I get

00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:23.059
up there the second I'm up there I'm already

00:34:23.059 --> 00:34:26.199
getting lit up and these bees are coming at me.

00:34:26.579 --> 00:34:29.929
I I got to the point where I looked at everything

00:34:29.929 --> 00:34:31.869
and I noticed that this was a massive colony.

00:34:32.329 --> 00:34:34.969
And when I thermal imaged everything, it was

00:34:34.969 --> 00:34:38.030
probably a radius of about three feet. So that

00:34:38.030 --> 00:34:42.510
means six feet by six feet. Wow. And I'm about

00:34:42.510 --> 00:34:44.550
five and a half to six hours away from home.

00:34:45.030 --> 00:34:47.210
And I told the homeowner, I'm like, I'm going

00:34:47.210 --> 00:34:48.670
to have to stay here tonight. I'm just going

00:34:48.670 --> 00:34:50.889
to sleep, you know, sleep in my truck and whatnot.

00:34:51.150 --> 00:34:53.429
He goes, no, no, no. Come to my house. We start

00:34:53.429 --> 00:34:55.949
first thing in the morning. It was a 16 hour

00:34:55.949 --> 00:34:59.599
removal. and I must have gotten stung well over

00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:02.659
100 times. And it was plaster, ceilings, cutting

00:35:02.659 --> 00:35:06.239
everything out. That was just doing everything

00:35:06.239 --> 00:35:09.059
on a ladder, having everything overhead. Your

00:35:09.059 --> 00:35:11.039
veil is pressed up against your face. You're

00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:12.739
getting stung in the face when every time they

00:35:12.739 --> 00:35:15.820
drop on you, you're covered in honey. Everything

00:35:15.820 --> 00:35:19.179
from top to bottom, you're just covered. One

00:35:19.179 --> 00:35:21.199
of the worst things about being on a ladder doing

00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:24.099
a cutout is when the honey starts really getting

00:35:24.099 --> 00:35:26.440
on that ladder. and now you no longer have a

00:35:26.440 --> 00:35:30.119
good footing. And so you're trying to balance

00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:35.500
this 15 pound comb that you're trying to carefully

00:35:35.500 --> 00:35:37.599
bring it down so you don't make the bees angry.

00:35:37.940 --> 00:35:39.980
Meanwhile, you're basically walking on honey,

00:35:40.099 --> 00:35:43.980
which feels like ice, and they're stinging you

00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:46.820
consistently during the whole time. And it's

00:35:46.820 --> 00:35:50.000
like, you have to watch it to see how chaotic

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:53.380
it is. And you're just thinking about... Why

00:35:53.380 --> 00:35:56.820
am I, how dumb am I to do this right now? But

00:35:56.820 --> 00:35:58.599
you gotta love it. You gotta love the bees to

00:35:58.599 --> 00:36:01.320
do it. If I didn't have that love, there's no

00:36:01.320 --> 00:36:03.159
way anybody else would do it. If you don't have

00:36:03.159 --> 00:36:05.099
the love for bees, what would you be doing getting

00:36:05.099 --> 00:36:08.400
stung 100 times, covered in honey, sticky, you

00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:10.559
know, and then the plaster dust is getting in

00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:12.599
between your joints, so it's just scratching

00:36:12.599 --> 00:36:15.119
everything. I've probably been up 80 feet up

00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:18.059
a pine tree collecting a swarm, and I would say

00:36:18.059 --> 00:36:21.440
that the cutouts are far worse. far more dangerous

00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:23.320
you know you're 80 feet up a tree and you feel

00:36:23.320 --> 00:36:26.000
that branch creak underneath your foot and you're

00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:28.940
like oh man there it is this is the last one

00:36:28.940 --> 00:36:31.059
then you have a certain sense of calm when you

00:36:31.059 --> 00:36:34.440
finish it's that's success when you rescue that

00:36:34.440 --> 00:36:37.099
colony and you you have the queen in your hand

00:36:37.099 --> 00:36:39.380
and you see all the bees even if they were just

00:36:39.380 --> 00:36:42.599
angry and a bowl full of vinegar you get that

00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:45.679
colony to basically reproduce and they get a

00:36:45.679 --> 00:36:48.199
second chance that makes it kind of worth it

00:36:48.199 --> 00:36:52.349
it makes it you know I told you earlier, we rescue

00:36:52.349 --> 00:36:56.230
snapping turtles. We rescue birds. I was feeding

00:36:56.230 --> 00:36:59.429
birds in high school. I'd get up every two hours

00:36:59.429 --> 00:37:02.750
just to feed a baby bird with a dropper. It makes

00:37:02.750 --> 00:37:05.070
it worth it when you do a release or if you rescue

00:37:05.070 --> 00:37:07.789
those animals. Because even if they just look

00:37:07.789 --> 00:37:09.489
back for a second, even if they don't look back

00:37:09.489 --> 00:37:11.190
for a second, you feel like you did something.

00:37:11.670 --> 00:37:14.590
And you don't know what that snowball effect

00:37:14.590 --> 00:37:18.880
is down the road. But yeah, I could give you

00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:21.559
hundreds of stories of rescues that were kind

00:37:21.559 --> 00:37:24.340
of awry where I'm so you're only supposed to

00:37:24.340 --> 00:37:26.980
go up about four sections of a staging. I've

00:37:26.980 --> 00:37:29.039
had many where I'm six sections of staging up

00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:30.599
the side of the house and we're not tied into

00:37:30.599 --> 00:37:33.500
the building. And again, everything's covered

00:37:33.500 --> 00:37:35.940
in honey and you're doing your best or you're

00:37:35.940 --> 00:37:40.280
on top of the roof or whatnot. And you got to

00:37:40.280 --> 00:37:41.639
you got to have a little bit of crazy in you,

00:37:41.719 --> 00:37:43.739
I guess. And but at the same time, love what

00:37:43.739 --> 00:37:46.730
you do. Well, you got to love the bees. And Ryan,

00:37:46.889 --> 00:37:49.610
you love the bees. I do. You're willing to risk

00:37:49.610 --> 00:37:52.849
your neck for the bees. Hey, thanks a ton for

00:37:52.849 --> 00:37:54.730
being with me on the show today. I'm going to

00:37:54.730 --> 00:37:57.190
have you back sometime. You've been a delight.

00:37:57.570 --> 00:37:59.710
All right. All right. Well, I was happy to be

00:37:59.710 --> 00:38:05.030
here. Thanks again for joining us here on Be

00:38:05.030 --> 00:38:08.519
Love Beekeeping, presented by Man Lake. Remember

00:38:08.519 --> 00:38:12.119
right now to follow or subscribe and share this

00:38:12.119 --> 00:38:15.340
podcast. Also a quick shout out to Vita Bee Health

00:38:15.340 --> 00:38:18.739
for their support. Vita's Varroa Control range

00:38:18.739 --> 00:38:22.460
of products includes Apistan, Apigard, and now

00:38:22.460 --> 00:38:26.099
Varroxan Extended Release Oxalic Acid Strips.

00:38:26.440 --> 00:38:29.639
Thanks guys. Enjoy spring everybody, enjoy your

00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:32.320
bees, and remember, if you're not just in it

00:38:32.320 --> 00:38:34.860
for the honey or the money, you're in it for

00:38:34.860 --> 00:38:36.940
the love. See you next week. you